Don Bosco Philippines South Province

Homily on Friday, Fifth Week of Lent, 31 March 2023

We are almost at the end of our final approach towards Holy Week. In two days time we will be celebrating Passion Sunday, in commemoration of the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gospel passage we have heard today presents the last part of Jesus’ stressful dialogue with the unbelieving Pharisees and the people of Jerusalem. It was his last attempt to make himself known to them and convince them that he was truly God’s Son sent by the Father. But the Jews consistently kept their minds and hearts closed. Triggered by the seemingly blasphemous declarations they were hearing from the TRUTH personified, they finally unleashed their raging EGO to pick up rocks to stone Jesus, unaware that He was indeed the TRUTH sent by the Father to set them free from their self-made imprisonment to sin.

Jesus managed, however, to escape from their clutches. He must have been exasperated. He could not believe having failed in his final attempt to make them realize that the good works he had done were clear signs that he and the Father were one. I guess he must have realized too that his being one hundred percent human had become a stumbling block for the Jews to recognize his supernatural powers coming from his being one hundred percent divine. And so despite the truth of his words and the power of his persuasion, sad to say, he had to admit failure in this regard. He failed to convince his fellow Jews to accept his own testimony, not because the truth was weak but because human freedom was stronger. The Jews like any other people have been endowed with the freedom of choice since the very beginning of creation. And so salvation could not be forced or imposed on them who do not want to be saved. It must be received and accepted with full knowledge and free will so that the divine gift may truly be cherished and appreciated. Only in that way can humanity be set free. Aware of this, Jesus recognized and respected their personal freedom and instead of reacting violently by calling down from heaven thunder and lightning to destroy them, he chose to simply walk away.

And as he walked away, drained and probably depressed, Jesus thought of returning to the very place where three years earlier his mission began, that is, at the River Jordan where he was baptized by John. Failure could at times be a cause of discouragement and can be a hindrance to achieve one’s goal. But the good news is that Jesus did not allow human failure to deter him from his goal. He chose to recharge himself and be replenished with positive energy coming from the living springs of that life-changing encounter with the Father at the flowing river; the God who in that river told him who he really was – his beloved Son – and what his mission would be – to save his people from their sins.

Brothers and sisters, very soon we will find ourselves spiritually on Calvary where our salvation had been won. Whatever we are going through in life especially the difficulties and hardships brought about by the various trials we have been facing for the past years, among them the pandemic, the super typhoon Odette, the Ukrainian War, the heat wave, etc. let the liturgical celebrations this coming Holy Week recharge our hearts and replenish us with positive energy, so that empowered by Christ’s boundless love and compassion on the cross, we may face the real challenges of life with greater hope and optimism. In union with Jesus let us retrace our steps spiritually to our own River Jordan, where we were baptized into Christ. In the waters of baptism we too received our true identity as adopted children of God freed from our slavery to sin and empowered to share in Christ’s mission of saving humanity and the whole world. This is precisely what we are preparing to do on Easter Sunday when we will be renewing our baptismal promises, and afterwards sprinkled with Holy Water.

These coming days let us also find some “ME time” to reflect on ourselves, and see whether we too are like the Pharisees, still locked up in our own insecure EGO, afraid to confront the truth about ourselves. Let us ask Jesus to set us free, to take us by the hand and be with Him in his redemptive passion, death and resurrection.

As we enter more deeply into the heart of the Lenten season which is Holy Week, may this Mass and every Eucharist we celebrate lead us to enter more deeply into the heart of Christ, pure and passionately burning with love for the Father and for all humanity. GiGsss!

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